Antique furniture pieces typically utilized many intricate shapes, requiring hand carving and other skills. One particular piece found in many cabinets is known as a cockleshell. This shape is formed from a generally hollow quartersphere with tapering flutes carved therein.
Originally, the cockleshell shape was created by forming a blank by gluing a plurality of arch-shaped wood pieces together to form a generally quartersphere shape. The flutes were then hand carved into the blank to form the finished product.
Since the origination of the cockleshell carving, various shortcuts in forming a wood cockleshell have been improvised. For example, one method for manufacturing the cockleshell without the need for hand carving utilizes a jig and router for forming the flutes. However, all of these methods still require labor intensive work on laminated wood.
It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide a plastic cockleshell cabinet top.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a cockleshell shape out of plastic to simulate conventional wood cockleshells.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.